Stewart is producing this, so it will likely all be unedited, self-congratulatory pap.

Having said that, I can’t wait.

Star Trek: Picard is the seventh* and latest series of the franchise. A retired Jean-Luc Picard is tormented by the death of his friend Data and the destruction of the planet Romulus. We find him doing what everyone does to recover from tragedy: farming courgettes or whatever. However, stuff happens, and that means there’s only one man who can fix it: stereotypically English, Frenchman Jean-Luc Picard. The ten episode first season airs on Amazon Prime on the 23rd of January 2020. We know that Philipa Georgiou from Star Trek: Discovery and, every wanker’s favourite, Star Trek: Voyager‘s Seven-of-Nine will feature.

I’m a huge Star Trek fan. I’ve seen and own every episode of every Trek. However, unlike many Trek fans (both the terms “Trekkie” and “Trekker” are for losers), I don’t like The Original Series with Shatner and co, and, whilst I loved The Next Generation, my favourite Treks are actually Deep Space 9 and Enterprise — ya know, the Treks where everything is effed up. Therefore, news that Star Trek: Picard features swearwords doesn’t in the least bit cause my tachyon matrix to go into flux, as it has some fans.

No, what causes me concern is that, like Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones 4, or like Harrison Ford in Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens, or like Harrison Ford in Blade Runner: 2049, this smacks of an old and failing actor cashing in on something he did years ago when he was still actually good. Easy money for old rope. That, and Stewart has stated that with this series he is responding to Brexit and Trump (really??). Plus, Stewart is producing this, so it will likely all be unedited, self-congratulatory pap.

Having said that, I can’t wait! I do love Stewart, and not just for Trek. I’m not that bothered if they take Star Trek off in all sorts of funky directions; we have the six series we love, so what’s the point in rebooting those? We have them already! Why not let’s boldly go where no fan has gone before? Set course for Seventh Heaven, Number One!

*The Animated Series doesn’t count.

© 2020 Bryan A. J. Parry

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